We've Got A Runner
by Shmowzow
Summary: After eight years of traveling the country searching for a place to belong. Eight years of ignoring anything and everything that had to do with Storybrooke, Maine. Eight years of avoiding everything that had to do with Regina Mills and trying to rid herself of the things she couldn't stop feeling for the woman who broke her heart. Emma Swan was going back home. AU. No magic.
1. Sick Inside Wondering

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**A/N: This concept is a little too heavy for my tastes, I'm not strong with the angst, but it wouldn't leave my brain until I wrote it. I'm more of a comedy person. I'm also not one for writing flashbacks buuuut this story line calls for it. Flashbacks will be in **_italics_**. Hopefully I capture what I intended and you enjoy this train wreck! :)**

* * *

Emma was getting tired. When she received the frantic phone call from David two days ago she hadn't had time to book a flight. Instead deciding to drive herself back to Storybrooke in her yellow bug. Despite her reasons for leaving the place she'd come to call home Emma couldn't ignore her father's pleading request for help. Her mother was pregnant with twins and having some kind of complications from what she gathered. Not only was age a factor, but Mary Margaret also had a history of complications during pregnancy. It was what led David and Mary Margaret Swan to adopt Emma.

She was barely thirteen when she was sent to live with her new foster parents. She was used to being shuffled around, carted off, and forgotten by the system. Emma expected to live with whatever new family she was being sent to for a year maybe two before they would tire of her and she would be shipped somewhere else. She never expected her new foster parents to be so young, so kind, or so understanding. She couldn't understand it. Why they would want damaged goods like her. Then David told her about how he grew up in the system and that he knew what it felt like to be shuffled around feeling unwanted. That he and his wife weren't able to have a child of their own so they decided to adopt and when they came across Emma's file, well, David knew what being a teenage foster kid felt like. They bonded over that, Emma letting someone else in for the first time in forever, and she'd been with them ever since.

Emma could remember the look on Mary Margaret's face the first time she ventured to call her Mom. She just turned fifteen and was attending her first competition for the high school track team and Mary Margaret was coddling her like she often did. It'd slipped out somewhere between her foster mother fussing with her hair and her teammates giggling behind her. A mortified, warning _Mom_ hissed out in embarrassment. The smile that took residence on Mary Margaret's face seemed to light up her face. Since that moment Emma alternated between calling them Mom and Dad or Mary Margaret and David depending on her mood.

The sound of her cell phone ringing snapped Emma from her thoughts. She yawned as she groped along the center console for the device, trying to keep her tired eyes on the road. A glance at the name flashing across the screen had her brows furrowing in worry. "Dad? What's wrong? Is everything ok? Did something happen with Mom?"

"Whoa, Em, everything is ok. Your mom is ok." David chuckled lightly into the phone. A response that had Emma pulling the phone away from her ear and wincing. Yeah, David's laugh could never be anything but boisterous. "I was just checking up on you. You made sure to check the bug before driving out, right?"

Emma rolled her eyes at the inquiry. She would've been able to leave sooner had he not insisted she perform a full inspection on her car before doing so. "Yeah. Mechanic said everything checked out. I've taken good care of her."

"Emma!"

The tone had her wincing for her unintentional slip. She barely had the chance to think, '_oh boy here it comes_' before David was barreling on.

"We didn't spend a whole summer working on her just so you could let some mechanic put his greasy hands all over her!"

She had to frown at that. The summer after her freshman year of high school marked her sixteenth birthday and David had given her the one present every sixteen year old dreamed of. A car. She remembered the wide, goofy grin on his face as he uncovered the yellow piece of scrap metal that looked like it belonged in a junkyard. She'd fixed him with a confused expression and asked him if it was supposed to be a joke. Apparently David figured that if she was going to be driving she needed to know exactly how a car worked so that if she ever had car trouble she could handle herself. They spent that summer fixing up the bug.

So to tell her father that she left the vehicle in the possession of some nameless mechanic instead of taking care of her like he taught her to, well, David wasn't pleased. "Between quitting my jobs and packing up my entire life so it would fit in the backseat of my car I didn't exactly have _time_ to check her out myself, David."

A heavy sigh issued from the man on the other end. She could practically see his mouth pressed into a hard line, his blue eyes squinted, and a slight furrow at his brow. "I know it's been a while since you were home, Em."

_That_ was an understatement.

"And I wouldn't have asked you to leave everything behind like that, but I didn't know what else to do."

Emma could feel the guilt bubbling up from the chaotic pit of her stomach. She hadn't meant to make him feel like she didn't want to be back in Storybrooke because, well, she _didn't_ want to be back in Storybrooke. Though it wasn't for the reason he thought. She wanted to help the people that raised her as their own, the people she could call her parents. She wanted to be there for them when they needed her like they were there for her. Her leaving had nothing to do with them and she never wanted them to ever think it had.

"I'm sorry." She pressed the phone between her ear and shoulder. Freeing her hand to rub tiredly at her eyes. "I'm running on four hours of sleep and the last time I stopped for food was a while ago." She ran her free hand through her hair and blinked the temporary blur from her vision. "I should be in Storybrooke by morning."

Unbeknownst to Emma, David was repeating her actions on his end of the line. Rubbing at his tired eyes and running a nervous hand through his short blonde hair. "It's alright, Emma. I'm sorry I got on you about the bug. I'll make sure to have a stack of my famous chocolate chip pancakes waiting for you when you get here."

Her stomach growled longingly at that. "Better make it two stacks."

He laughed again, his full booming laugh this time around, and Emma had to pull the phone from her ear once more. "You got it, Em!"

She had to chuckle a little herself when she heard the distinct sound of her mother grumbling about the volume of his voice. She laughed again when he returned to their conversation, after apologizing to her sleeping mother, his tone much softer. "Your mom's trying to sleep. We'll see you tomorrow morning."

"See you in the morning. I love you guys."

"Love you too, kiddo."

The line went dead and Emma tossed her phone onto the passenger seat, a hint of a smile at her lips. Her gaze landed on the sign briefly illuminated by her headlights and her smile faded completely.

**WELCOME TO**

**MAINE**

**The Way Life Should Be**

_Emma crept silently down the hallway, a single duffle bag slung over her shoulder, fingers gripping the strap so tightly that her knuckles were white. The old wooden floor let loose a soft creak and her wide green eyes shifted to her parents closed bedroom door. She chewed nervously at her bottom lip, her stomach roiling. There was a soft pang beneath her chest, radiating through her heart and seeping into her bloodstream. Making her eyes water with unshod tears. She felt like a coward. Sneaking away before dawn to avoid a conversation she knew they should have face to face. The note she left them in her room wouldn't save them the pain of her leaving. Wouldn't stop them from wondering if they were part of the reason she couldn't stay in Storybrooke. Wondering why she couldn't stay with them. _

_The charming two story Victorian style house on Snowing Street had been her home for almost six years. Longer than Emma ever stayed anywhere else. She had a really family, real parents, for the first time in her life. A loving mother and father that _wanted_ her. It was hard to leave them behind but she couldn't stay. Staying meant heartache in the form of Regina Mills. _

_With the thought in mind Emma steeled herself. Wiping furiously at the few tears that slipped through before continuing down the silent hallway and out the front door. Clutching the strap of her duffle like a lifeline. She could do it. She could run away from the place she'd called home for so long. She _would_ leave and she _would_ get over Regina._

_The last thing she expected was said woman standing there, leaning against Emma's yellow bug, waiting for her. Those dark eyes glaring at the pavement, brows furrowed, pretty red lips set into a frown, and arms crossed. As always, Regina looked like she stepped right out of a magazine. It wasn't even dawn yet and she still looked perfect, still stole Emma's breath away. Stole her sanity, her _resolve_, away. God, the woman even made Emma's beat up old bug, with its faded paint and dented body, look good._

_Regina didn't look up until Emma was standing right in front of her, a distance the blonde considered safe. She hadn't realized she was unconsciously gravitating closer to Regina until the sharp sting of the brunette's perfume hit her nostrils. Until that mouthwatering scent of spice and sweet and _Regina_ was invading her already scattered mind. And when those too dark, too deep, too tragically beautiful brown eyes met hers Emma could feel the air rushing back into her lungs. Forcing her to swallow oxygen, lungs swelling and head floating with the rush of air._

_"Hey." Emma barely recognized her own voice past the fog. Surely that faraway quality, that delicate whisper wasn't hers. She intended to sound harder, colder, more aloof. Not like that anxious girl in the presence of the woman who held her heart. She swore to herself that she was through with being Regina's... Regina's plaything. The next few words she forced from the inconsiderate lump in her throat were decidedly harsher. "What are you doing here?"_

_Regina's features contorted, morphed, struggled with what carefully constructed emotion to display, and settled so where between lost and confused. "You're leaving."_

_Emma cursed her jittery nerves, cursed the way her hands began to fiddle nervously with her duffle bag. The way she squirmed so easily under Regina's stare. "I am."_

_The confusion, the hurt, the complete and utter bafflement across Regina's beautiful face shifted so abruptly Emma wondered if it was even there in the first place. The other woman's next few words were an indignant growl. The fire in them matching the flames sparking golden in Regina's eyes. "You're _running_."_

_The implication of _'from me'_ sent Emma's head spinning. Had her own green eyes matching the flickering flames in Regina's. She had no right to accuse Emma of anything. Had no right to act as though it mattered. As though Emma ever mattered to her at all. Regina had no right to call her on her cowardice. Not when the brunette had filled the role of coward so perfectly for the past year. No. Emma couldn't, wouldn't let Regina _judge_ her. "You don't get to say that to me. You don't get to stand here and act like... like-"_

_"Like I don't want you to leave?" The sudden rise in volume, the raw emotion backing Regina's words, had both of them startled._

_Emma stared mouth agape, eyes wide, and heart leaping beneath her chest. Regina didn't want her to leave? Regina didn't want her to leave... _Regina didn't want her to leave_. Emma couldn't wrap her head around it, around the possibility. She couldn't let herself hope, could she? "You don't want me to leave?"_

_Emma could see it in Regina's eyes. The fear, the confusion, the war raging in that perpetually analytical head of hers. "No, I don't."_

_Hope soared inside of her. Burning through every darkened crevice their game of 'she loves me, she loves me not' had created within her. It jolted her heavy limbs into action. Propelled her closer to Regina, their bodies flush and hands cupping soft cheeks. Bringing those dark eyes to her determined stare. Eyes that shone with fear and trepidation and something Emma could only hope was real. Could only hope wasn't a torturous figment of her imagination. She wanted to kiss her so badly. Claim those full red painted lips over and over and over until momentarily sated. She wanted to give in, dare to believe Regina wanted her. That being together wasn't the mistake the brunette constantly proclaimed it was. She wanted to but she needed to _know_ first. She needed to hear Regina say it. "Then tell me to stay."_

_She could see it there. Emma could _see_ it. The words, the desire. She could see it written so plainly across the other woman's face. Regina wanted to say it. She wanted to but... _

_"I can't." It was a broken whisper, a rush of fragmented air expelled from some scared place inside of her. Slipping past ruby red lips, into the space between them, and hitting Emma's trembling chin. _

_A choked noise, not quite a sob, tore its way from Emma's throat. She shouldn't have expected anything less. She shouldn't have expected _more_ from Regina. She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up when Emma knew, she _knew_, how their game always ended. Her heart ached, her skin burned where it touched Regina's, her lips craved. One last kiss. Just one. One to never forget, to always remember. The thought had Emma surging forward, closing the barely there distance between their mouths. Lips pressing soft and slow. She could feel herself melting against Regina. Falling into the rhythm of sliding lips, mingled breaths, searching tongues, and pure sensation. Giving and giving and giving until the need for oxygen squeezed at her lungs._

_Emma pulled back from their kiss, breathless and broken. She leaned her forehead against Regina's, refusing to open her eyes. She just needed a moment. Just a second to catch her breath. To revel in the sensations still buzzing so deliciously through her. To commit the feel, the taste, the scent, and the sound to memory before she opened her eyes. Before reality reared its ugly head._

_"Goodbye, Regina."_

Emma tore her suddenly blurry gaze from the welcome sign. She tried her best to shake the memory from her mind. To rid the ache from heart, the weariness from her bones, and the ominous feeling of dread. After eight years of traveling the country searching for a place to belong. Eight years of ignoring anything and everything that had to do with Storybrooke, Maine. Eight ears of avoiding the thought of Regina Mills and trying to rid herself of the things she never stopped feeling for the woman who broke her heart. After it all Emma Swan was going back home.


	2. Here We Go Again

**A/N: Ooooo so _bad_. I feel a little mean writing the back story in this. It's a little difficult for me to write the flashbacks with Emma being so young. I didn't have it in me to write her any younger because there's like over a decade of an age difference between her and Regina. **_Looks Can Be Deceiving_**is a hell of a lot easier for me to write since it's meant to be light and amusing. Enjoy the following angst.**

* * *

"It's official." David grinned down at her, a proud twinkle in his blue eyes, and pinned the shiny golden deputy badge to her newly issued uniform shirt. "The Storybrooke Sheriff station is now a family run business."

Emma grinned back, rolling her eyes good naturedly at the comment, and picked at the hem of the shirt. She refused to tuck the coarse tan fabric into the equally coarse (and ridiculously unflattering) baby shit green pants that completed her deputy uniform. She didn't even know how David managed to coerce her into the ensemble. "Since it's now a family run business, think we can get cooler uniforms?"

David laughed his loud, booming laugh and patted Emma heartily on the shoulder. Causing the woman to wince at both the volume and the slap at her unsuspecting shoulder. "You'll have to take _that_ up with the Mayor, Deputy Swan."

Emma glared at him and rubbed at her shoulder as he shuffled away toward his office. "C'mon, Dad. Old Mayor Gold is creepy. Can't _you_ talk to him about it?"

"I would, kiddo." David returned from his office, a thick stack of paperwork in his hands. Flipping through the papers while answering Emma. "But Mr. Gold isn't mayor anymore. He retired over two years ago."

She quirked a brow at the information, her curiosity piqued. She'd tried to avoid Storybrooke and any news that came out of it for years. It shouldn't be so surprising that the former mayor was retired. He was nearing sixty and had taken to walking around with a cane and a noticeable limp when she'd left town. "Who's the mayor now?"

"Here." David gave her a mysterious smile. Handing the stack of documents he'd been looking over to Emma. "Why don't you take this down to the Mayor's Office and find out for yourself?"

Emma took the proffered paperwork with a frown. Protest on the tip of her tongue.

"Oh, and while you're out…" He grabbed a few more items from his office and handed them to her. "The cruiser needs some work so take her down to Tillman's Auto Shop. Mrs. Gingy's cat, Mongo, is stuck in the tree on Drury Lane again so you'll have to get him down. Be careful, he's a scratcher. Mary Margaret was going to grab her prescription from Mr. Clark down at the pharmacy, but she isn't feeling well. Let him know I sent you and he shouldn't give you any trouble. By the time you're done at the Mayor's Office Granny should have our lunches ready so you can pick them up before heading back here."

She wasn't gonna lie. She tuned out somewhere between "the cruiser" and "Mrs. Gingy". When David settled her with a questioning look, waiting for her response, Emma forced a weak smile across her face. "First day on the job and you're already overworking me, huh."

* * *

Emma arrived at the Mayor's Office looking worst for wear. One sleeve of her uniform was torn to shreds, little claw marks littering the skin of her bare arm. Mongo really liked being in that fucking tree. There were oil stains splattered all over her pants. She had to remind herself to look where she was walking when visiting Tillman's Auto Shop again. It seemed his rascal kids enjoyed playing pranks. And to top it all off, there was a dubious stain across Emma's left chest pocket where a startled Mr. Clark had accidently squirted a tube of ointment. The guy was still as skittish as ever. All she'd said was hello, granted she was standing not too far behind him, but that hardly was a cause for such a strong reaction.

The last stop on her list before picking up a much needed lunch and heading back to the station was the Mayor's Office. She had almost forgotten her curiosity over the identity of the newly appointed Mayor of Storybrooke.

The secretary acknowledged her with a polite smile and a wave of her hand while continuing to speak on the phone. She gestured toward the large office doors for Emma to walk through. Not giving Emma any chance to respond before focusing back on her phone call.

Emma stood awkwardly in front of the door before deciding to knock. She wasn't sure what the protocol was for deputies visiting the Mayor. She supposed she should've asked David. A faint "come in" issued from within the office. Emma attempted to shake off her sudden nervousness before proceeding to enter. She was immediately greeted with the sight of a brunette sitting behind the large mayoral desk. An extremely familiar brunette. She about had a heart attack when it finally clicked in her mind who she was gaping stupidly at. The familiar brunette was none other than Regina freaking Mills. Her wide stare involuntarily went for the epic cleavage the brunette had on display. She could feel herself salivating at the sight, her memory fluttering through all the instances in which she had such a view.

"Sheriff Swan," Regina, the _Mayor_, didn't bother to look up from the mess of paperwork spread across her desk as she addressed her visitor. "I trust you have the documents I requested."

In that moment, with the sound of Regina's commanding voice washing over her, Emma felt like a teenager all over again. Just being in the same room as Regina caused Emma to lose all the cocky swagger she acquired while away. She felt like a nervous wreck and there were butterflies, fucking _butterflies_, in her stomach. She hadn't gotten butterflies since… Emma pushed the thought away, struggling through her cluttered thoughts and emotions in and attempt at speech. "I, uh, it-it's actually Deputy Swan."

Regina's gaze snapped up at that, her dark eyes wide and flittering through so many emotions Emma couldn't keep up.

"But I _do_ have the documents you requested." Emma tried and failed to fight the urge to bite anxiously at her bottom lip. "Madam Mayor."

The emotions that'd slipped so candidly across Regina's shocked features disappeared completely. Leaving a cool, impeccably aloof mask in their place. Dark brown eyes regarded Emma Swan carefully, cautiously. "Miss Swan, I wasn't aware you were back in Storybrooke and as our new Deputy at that."

"Oh, I, um," Emma cleared the heavy lump at her throat. Forcing her eyes to stay in the safe zone above the Mayor's neck. Eight years and Regina Mills still looked as flawlessly beautiful as ever. It was a struggle for Emma to stand there and converse with her. To pretend that everything she ever felt for Regina wasn't rushing through her and polluting her bloodstream. To act like she didn't want to rush toward the brunette, wrap her arms around her, and rediscover the taste of her lips. The scent of her skin. The feel of her silky dark hair. Her everything ached, her everything _wanted_, and Emma had to remind herself to pretend. Had to remind herself why she left this beautiful woman in the first place. "I thought David and Mary Margaret told you."

"It must have slipped my mind." For reasons unknown to Emma, the brunette's features seemed to harden at the mention of her parents. She held out her hand expectantly. "The documents if you please."

Emma could sense there was something Regina wasn't telling her. Over the years Emma developed somewhat of a superpower when it came to people lying to her or hiding something from her. The mention of her parents caused a chilly shift in the atmosphere that Emma wasn't accustomed to. Which was altogether strange because Mary Margaret and Regina were childhood friends, _best_ friends at that. If her mother had told Regina about Emma's arrival in Storybrooke she would have no doubt been bugging the Mayor about it nonstop for the past few days.

The arch of Regina's dark brow, the curl of a frown turning down one corner of her red painted lips, snapped Emma out of her thoughts. She handed the paperwork over clumsily, nearly knocking over a picture frame on the Mayor's desk in the process. Earning herself a hint of a glare from the older brunette.

"I, well, I guess I'll just…" Emma shuffled backward toward the door. One of her hands rubbing nervously at the back of her neck. She needed to get out of there. She needed to get away. She needed to go back to Regina Mills being a random face of the past. Being the one person Emma ever let close enough to hurt her. "Good day, Madam Mayor."

Regina remained tense, diverting her attention back to her endless paperwork. She offered a terse string of parting words as Emma made her way out of the office. "Welcome back to Storybrooke, Deputy Swan."

* * *

_Storybrooke's annual summer festival was a joyous event filled with fireworks, games, food, music, and copious amounts of alcohol. That particular year, Regina Mills found a distinct interest in drowning her sorrows in the endless supply of amber liquid. She was way past ridiculously plastered before the firework show even had a chance to start. It wasn't something she made a habit of. Drinking until she couldn't feel her anything anymore. She simply couldn't _deal_. Not with thought of the woman who could have broken her heart. She couldn't deal with what the affair had led to. Though she was well aware the outcome could have been much worse than losing the job at the prestigious law firm she'd been making a name for herself within._

_Having an affair with her boss' wife definitely warranted more of a scandal. Regina knew only reason she was able to keep her name out of the papers and her reputation mostly intact was credited to her mother. Cora had bailed her out to save face. Pulling her vicious tactics and calling in dubious favors owed all to make the affair go away. And away it went. Along with the woman Regina might have been able to fall in love with. But Tina Bell wanted more than Regina could offer her. Why would she choose Regina over a man who had dollar signs ranging in the billions attached to his name? Both her mother and Tina had asked her the same devastating question._

_The thing that stuck with her though? The one statement her mother had sprouted off in her clipped, angered tone? Cora wasn't all that shocked by the affair. According to her mother Regina had always been a spoiled child wanting the things she couldn't have and associating with those who were far beneath her. She was appalled by the fact that Regina had gotten caught. Not by who she was with or that she had such an affair in the first place but because she got _caught_. What kind of mother, what kind of person, would say that?_

_Her visit to Storybrooke was meant to be a reprieve from her overbearing mother, a distraction from her heartache, and an escape from the fast paced city life she wasn't sure she enjoyed all that much. She didn't rightly know how a single drink with David and Mary Margaret, a single toast to life, had ended up turning into three. Four. Five. Maybe there was a sixth. Regina had lost count after that. She also didn't understand how she was standing in front of the door to her home with a familiar blonde holding her upright. A pretty blonde. A very pretty blonde that Regina suddenly felt the urge to kiss. But wait. That would be wrong. She knew this blonde._

_ Oh. It was _Emma_._

_Regina giggled to herself, dark eyes admiring the girl's efforts to both keep her upright and find the correct key to her door. She wanted to kiss Emma. How silly was that. The girl was barely eighteen _and_ the adoptive daughter of two of her closest friends. But those soft pink lips, the scent of her skin, the swirl of blue and green in those striking eyes… She had her weaknesses. The biggest being her attraction to pretty blonde women._

_Another, errant, thought struck Regina and she giggled again. Her wobbly grip at Emma's hip tightening. Her other hand moving to soft blonde hair. Fingers curling around the beautiful strands of gold. She felt herself voicing her thought in a tone that did nothing to hide her amusement. "You used to have such an adorable little crush on me."_

_Emma didn't bother to respond to the statement. Not verbally anyway. Regina watched in mild fascination as the soft blush that was painted across Emma's pale cheeks spread over her entire face. Even creeping down her neck and across her chest where Regina's gaze settled. She watched the younger woman's chest heave in quick, nervous bursts. The hand at Emma's hip seemed to acquire a mind of its own, moving to slip beneath the hem of the blonde's shirt. Higher and higher until her fingers were splayed over the taunt, soft flesh and jolting muscles of Emma's stomach. "You're quite… fit, aren't you, Emma?"_

_"I, yeah," Regina watched in growing interest as Emma's breath hitched. Those striking blue green eyes of hers fluttering shut briefly. Ever so briefly before snapping open again and focusing on the nearly forgotten keys in her hands. "Track team."_

_The information momentarily shot through the lustful haze invading Regina's mind and she giggled in amusement. "So you're a _runner_."_

_Regina caught notice of the blonde's shaking, fumbling hands. Her fuzzy head registering that Emma was nervous. _She_ was making Emma nervous. The thought spurred another impulsive move from the brunette. Fingers untangling from Emma's golden hair to trail down along the side of her pretty face. Grazing over a furiously blushing cheek, across a strong jaw, and along an elegant neck. The hand splayed across Emma's toned stomach pressed their bodies closer together. Regina's front fully against Emma's back. The action, the feel, had Regina taking in a hissed breath and exhaling throatily. "Do I make you nervous, Emma?"_

_Emma nearly dropped the keys in her hands completely. Still against Regina and squeezing her eyes shut once more. She croaked out a husky response. "A little bit."_

_Regina liked the feel of Emma's soft, toned body against her. Liked the spreading flush of red against her pale skin. Enjoyed the silken flesh prickling under her touch. She found herself intoxicated in more ways than one. Voice a throaty, seductive rasp as she chuckled into the side of Emma's neck. "Just a little bit?"_

_Emma could only manage a grunt in response. The sound punctuated by the blonde shoving a key into the lock more forcefully than she intended._

_Another giggle left Regina, breathier than her previous ones. She would never know what, exactly, it was that motivated her next course of action. That made her think pressing her lips to Emma's heated skin, pressing a single soft kiss to the throbbing pulse at the younger woman's neck, was a good idea at all. "How about now?"_

Regina frowned at the memory. Her dark gaze following this older, more mature, version of Emma Swan from the window of her office. Watching the blonde hop into Storybrooke's only police cruiser and drive away. It wasn't until the cruiser disappeared from her sight that Regina allowed herself to _breathe_. Allowed her mask to fall, a look of immense sadness in her eyes and a frown tugging at her lips. Emma Swan was back in Storybrooke and Regina didn't know how she felt about that.

_Regina awoke with a massive hang over, an '_I just had incredible sex'_ feeling radiating through her sore muscles and a lot of confusion over why that was. The shrill incessant ringing, the sound that roused her from sleep, sounded once more throughout her large bedroom and Regina winced. It seemed the only way to quell the noise was to answer the phone._

_"Who is it?" Regina grimaced at the crackly sound of her own voice._

_"Regina?" Mary Margaret chirped from the other end. The sound of her bright, happy voice causing Regina to flinch. "Is Emma with you? She didn't come home last night and David said last he saw she was taking you home."_

_In that moment, everything clicked for Regina and she felt as though she might throw up. She had sex with Emma. She had sex with her best friend's _daughter_._

Foster daughter_, a little voice at the back of her hammering head corrected._

_She had sex with her best friend's _teenage_ daughter._

Eighteen year old **foster** daughter, _the snarky little voice supplied once again._

_"Regina?"_

_"I…" She managed some distracted response through her frazzled thoughts. "I'm not sure, dear. I've just woken up. I'll… I'll have to check if Emma is in the guest room."_

_"You woke up just now? _You_? Regina Mills? Queen of the early morning?" Mary Margaret teased in that chirpy voice of hers. Unaware of the mini freak out her best friend was having._

_"I have to go… have to shower and then there's coffee and I," Regina was close to hyperventilating. "I'll have Emma call you if she's here."_

_Mary Margaret let her go, but not without chastising Regina for drinking far too much the previous night. After ending the call Regina simply sat, unmoving, for all of five minutes. Her head filled with various scenarios in which David and Mary Margaret found out about her drunken one night stand with their daughter. A terrible feeling churning in the pit of her stomach, forcing her to her feet and in front of the toilet where she expelled the remnants of her last meal._

* * *

Emma made her way to the station after picking up lunch. Her thoughts filled with Regina Mills. Specifically the morning after that _night_ with Regina Mills. The one Emma could never forget, no matter how hard she tried.

_Emma stood in the large kitchen, leaning against Regina's kitchen counter with a to-go cup of coffee in her hands. Biting her lip nervously and trying to calm her racing pulse as she watched Regina enter the room. She took in the hint of shock and hesitation that slipped across Regina's features when she noticed Emma and forced herself to speak. _

_"Hi, um, morning. I didn't know how to use your… coffee machine so I," She held up her to-go cup. "Went to Granny's."_

_The shocked expression wavered, faded, settled on stony indifference as Regina made her way toward her espresso machine. "Your… Mary Margaret is looking for you."_

_Regina was moving on autopilot, fixing herself a cup of coffee. Emma hadn't responded to her and Regina didn't know what to make of it. The eerie silence made her want to scream. Her thoughts were so loud in her head, so frantic and volatile and Regina didn't know how to proceed. Didn't know how to tackle the conversation that she and Emma needed to have. So she simply leaned against the counter opposite to the blonde, sipping at her coffee, trying not to look at the other woman, and attempting to gather her thoughts. _

_"Regina, I," Emma's voice cracked, her big blue eyes filling with guilt. "I'm sorry for last night. I-I knew you were really drunk and it was wrong of me to… to take advantage of you like that. I don't know what I was thinking or how everything got so out of control and I'm just," Her chin trembled, eyes glistening with the promise of tears. "So, so, sorry. I know it's a lot to ask but p-please don't tell David or Mary Margaret? I couldn't, I don't know what I would do if they didn't want to be by parents anymore and-"_

_"Emma." Regina's head was reeling, trying to comprehend the rush of words Emma threw at her. "Last night," Her features contorted into a grimace. Brows furrowed and lips pursing. "It wasn't _your_ fault. None of… what happened," Her stomach churned horribly. She couldn't even say it out loud. "Was your fault. I'm the adult here." She couldn't stop the way her gaze shifted guiltily to the ground or the way her voice softened to a near whisper. "If anyone should take blame it's me."_

_"I'm eighteen. That makes me an adult and you were really drunk. You even," Emma flushed to the tips of her ears. Fiddling with her coffee cup and worrying her lower lip. "Called me by a different name once… during_._"_

_Regina's cheeks flared red at that, the hazy memory suddenly flashing through her head. She'd called Emma by the name of the woman she'd had an affair with. They were both blonde and Regina was so… She felt sick. Not only did she have sex with her best friend's teenage daughter, she _used_ the girl for rebound sex. The situation was just getting worse and worse and Emma was so shy and innocent and _oh god_. Regina hadn't even considered. "Emma? A-Are you a virgin?"_

_"NO!" The answer exploded from the blonde, loud and indignant. _

_Regina breathed a sigh of relief. The look of horror across her face lessening and her death grip on her coffee much loosening._

_"I-I mean, technically not anymore?"_

_The brunette nearly dropped the warm mug in her hands. Her horrified expression returning tenfold. She felt as though she might be sick again, the terrible churning in her stomach making its way to her head and sending her mind whirling in the worst of ways. "You've never…"_

_Emma winced and shook her head._

_"Last night was… _I_ was y-your _first_?"_

_Emma rubbed nervously at the back of her neck, swaying from foot to foot and biting her lip. Completely unable to look at Regina. "Technically? Yes?"_

_"Oh my god." She was going to be sick. She was… Regina turned away abruptly. The sound of her mug hitting the hard marble of the counter making her flinch. She placed her hands down flat on the countertop, the coolness of the marble doing little to nothing to calm the furnace burning within. Her back was tensed, body coiled so tightly that she looked as though she might implode. When Regina finally managed to speak past the sickness rising in her gut, it was a muttered mess of words. "Mary Margaret is never going to forgive me. David, your _father_, is going to kill me!"_

_"Um, well, about that?" Emma swallowed at the lump lodged in her throat. Her worried green eyes staring intently into Regina's back. "Can we just, like, _not_ tell them?"_

_Regina squeezed her eyes shut. Pressing her forehead against the kitchen cabinet in a futile attempt to calm the raging fire of her thoughts. "Emma, Mary Margaret is my _best friend_, I've known her almost my entire life. We grew up together. I can't _lie_ to her like that. Especially not after I completely betrayed her trust by sleeping with her _daughter_."_

_"You're acting like that, it, us being together is the single most horrible thing that could ever happen."_

_Regina whirled back around to face Emma. The fire pulsing in her veins, in her thoughts, beneath her chest making it's way into her eyes. Her eyes burned into Emma, her voice a vicious hiss. "It _is_."_

_The reaction, the words, took Emma by surprise. Sent her heart plummeting to its slow, agonizing death in the pit of her stomach. Her face contorting into an expression of utter mortification. Tears welling in her eyes and streaming down her face. She looked as though Regina had broken her heart and Regina thought she very well might have. Then Emma seemed to take a page out of Regina's book, her expression hardening and icing over despite the tears still sliding down her cheeks. "Please don't tell David and Mary Margaret about… _what happened _between us. The least you can do is not let every one know I was just some drunken mistake."_

_How could Regina respond to that? It was the truth. All she could do was stare, stunned, as Emma moved to leave._

_Emma paused in the doorway, features twisted with hurt and anger. She nodded jerkily in the direction of the white paper back on the counter. "I brought you apple pancakes from Granny's. I know they're your favorite."_

_Then she was gone. Leaving Regina to stare stupidly after her._

"Yum. Lunch." David's excited voice brought Emma back to the here and now. He rubbed his hands together before taking one of the white paper bags from her. "Did you get extra ketchup?"

"Y-Yeah." Emma offered a smile that didn't reach her eyes and exhaled shakily. David was too busy unwrapping his burger to notice the waver in her voice or the pained look on her face. "You should have told me _Regina_," In spite of the memories still clinging to her foggy head the name still tasted so ridiculously delicious on her tongue. "Is the Mayor."

David shrugged, taking a huge bite of his burger. "I thought it would be a nice surprise after dealing with Mongo. Let you two play catch up."

"It was definitely a surprise." Emma held back the '_but far from a nice one'_ that begged to be released. Shortly after agreeing to come back to Storybrooke, Emma resolved to avoid Regina at all costs. If she could manage not to run into the woman who still held a big chunk of her heart, she believed she had a fighting chance against falling in love with Regina all over again. She recalled the strange expression Regina had when Emma mention her parents and decided to ask David about it. "She didn't know I was in town which is really weird because knowing mom, she would've talked Regina's ear off about it."

David paused mid chew, his blue eyes meeting Emma's. Brows furrowed. "They haven't really been talking much these days."

The response raised about a hundred red flags for Emma. There was never a time she could remember Mary Margaret and Regina _not_ talking. "What constitutes as much?"

"They had a falling out." David set his half eaten burger down on his desk. A sad smile crossing his lips. "I'm not sure exactly what about but I assume it happened when Regina decided to run for Mayor against your mother."

"Mom ran for Mayor?" Emma wondered just how out of the loop she was.

"Yep. And she lost." He rubbed bashfully at the back of his neck. "By a landslide, actually." The bashful look faded, a conflicted one replacing it. "When Mary found out the results she said the strangest thing. She said if people knew what she knew, Regina wouldn't have won. I asked her about it after she cooled off but," He shrugged and picked his burger back up. "She said it was just the heat of the moment. You know your mom doesn't like losing."

"Oh yeah." Emma scoffed. Her curiosity dissipating as memories of Mary Margaret's sore loser syndrome overtook her. "Remember that time she flipped the board over when we were playing Monopoly?"

"Em," He shook his head, a wary look in his eyes. "To this day she refuses to play Monopoly."


	3. All My Fragile Strength

**A/N: You guys are awesome. Their present and their past will unravel a little more each chapter. There is a lot that Emma missed while she was away and right now she's figuring what is what. Hope you enjoy the new chapter! :)**

* * *

Emma groaned into the soft fabric of her bed sheet and pulled her pillow over her head. Her phone had been ringing nonstop for the past five minutes. She was one ring away from throwing the damn thing through a goddamn fucking window. The device from hell abruptly stopped ringing and Emma relaxed her grip on the pillow. Her foggy head slipping slowly back into the realm of dreams. She'd been having a really good one about Regina and a can of whipped cream before it was interrupted.

Just as she was falling back asleep, the sound of her ring tone broke the wonderful silence once again. Emma let loose a string of curses that would have had a sailor blushing. Huffing petulantly and throwing her pillow clear across the room. Who the hell was calling her so fucking early in the... Her gaze settled on the numbers blinking at her from her alarm clock. Afternoon?

"Shit!" She grabbed for her phone on the nightstand, underestimating her reach and nearly falling out of her bed. "Hello?"

"Emma!" Mary Margaret's scolding voice had the blonde wincing. "Where are you? We were supposed to go grocery shopping an hour ago!"

Emma scrambled out of bed, pulling random articles of clothing from her drawers. Tossing them over her shoulder until she found what she wanted to wear. "Sorry, mom. I overslept. I'll pick you up in like twenty minutes."

The call ended with Mary Margaret making Emma promise to be there in exactly twenty minutes. Emma took the fastest shower she'd ever taken in her life before getting dressed and speeding over to her parents house. Mary Margaret's mood seemed to do a complete one eighty the moment she saw Emma. Her angry pout turning into a brilliant smile. They made a quick stop to pick up her little brother, Leo, from school before heading for the grocery store. The ride was filled with idle chit chat between Emma and Mary Margaret. With Leo interrupting his mother to tell Emma about random things he'd done recently. With Emma making silly faces in the rear view mirror at the six year old. Mary Margaret chastising Emma for not paying full attention to the road and Leo for distracting his sister.

"Alright, kid." She held up two boxes of cereal. The serious expression on her face failing to match the playful twinkle in her eyes. "Coco Puffs or Frosted Flakes?"

"Frosted Flakes! Duh, Em!" Leo grinned back at her. His bright green eyes glimmering and a grin to mirror David's lighting up his face. "They're grrrrrreat!"

Emma laughed softly at his antics. Tossing the declared cereal box into the cart and ruffling his short blond hair. "Been practicing that roar of yours, little man?"

"Yep!" He fixed her with a smug smirk, his little arms crossing over his chest in the most adorable way Emma had ever witnessed. But, hey, she could be biased. "I can even roar louder than YOU now."

She arched a brow at him. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. Daddy even said so."

"Was that a challenge?"

They then proceeded to roar at one another. Each one getting louder and louder until Leo released something akin to a scream and Mary Margaret suddenly appeared next to them. Glaring at Emma while the two blondes giggled at a startled bystander. "Emma. Leo. I told you both to _behave_ yourselves."

Emma grimaced at the chastising tone. She turned her attention back to Leo, face contorting in exaggerated pain. "Ouch, little man. I think you busted my eardrums. I give. You totally won."

He gave a loud whoop of victory, thrusting his little fist into the air and doing a cute little jump. When he noticed his mother's stern stare, he repeated the action again in at a much quieter volume.

"Was that a _lion_ I just heard?" A playful voice sounded from behind Emma.

"No, it was _me_." Leo beamed brightly at the newcomer. Seemingly not afraid to talk to strangers.

Emma turned to face the mystery man at the same time Mary Margaret greeted him by name. "Hello, August. It's nice to see you again. How's Marco doing?"

"Nice to see you too, Mrs. Swan. My dad's doing much better since the surgery. Just grumpy about not being able to work on his crafts." August answered back politely. Giving Mary Margaret a pleasant smile before turning his attention to Emma. His smile morphing into a decidedly flirtatious grin. "Hey, Em. It's been a while."

"Little August Booth?" Emma was completely oblivious to the intent behind his smirk. Scooping the man into a tight hug, releasing, and ruffling his hair like she used to when he was younger. "You're all adult size now."

His smirk faltered at her response. August had a massive crush on the ever clueless Emma Swan since she first moved to town. He would follow her around like a little lost puppy with big adoring blue eyes. "I'm only five years younger than you, Em."

The blonde smirked at that, a taunting gleam in her green eyes. "How does it feel to finally hit legal drinking age?"

He rolled his eyes at the teasing question. Trying not to frown at the implication behind it. She still saw him as the little kid she used to babysit which seriously sucked. Because Emma Swan might've been hot as a teenager but now? Now she was just plain fucking gorgeous. "I was a seasoned drinker long before my twenty first birthday."

"You should really be careful who you talk about underage drinking with, young man." She said in a false stern voice. Sweeping her jacket aside to uncover the gleaming deputy badge clipped to the waist of her too tight blue jeans.

August nearly pouted when she addressed him as young man. His crush seemed to be duping all of his attempts to look mature (and therefore a potential romantic parter) with her endearing obliviousness. He decided he might as well play along. There would be other, better occasions for him to flirt with Emma. To convince her of his maturity. "I plead the fifth, Deputy Swan."

The conversation continued with small talk until August received a lengthy phone call from his father. Who, Emma noted with a chiding grin, he still called 'Papa'. They parted then. August heading home after making Emma promise to have a drink with him and the Swan family to resume their grocery shopping.

As soon as August was out of earshot, Mary Margaret settled Emma with an impish smile. "You _do_ remember how big of a crush he had on you, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Emma sighed out. It'd been cute until he hit puberty. Then it became irritating. She learned to battle his flirty comments with seemingly oblivious retorts. August never outright confessed to having a crush on her which made letting him down a lot harder than she thought. "I still remember that one time he tried to kiss me and I had to pretend I saw a spider. I'm not even scared of spiders."

"He's grown into a handsome young man, Emma. Maybe you could give him a chance?"

"Even if I didn't see him as the cute kid I used to babysit, August isn't really my type." Emma spared a self depreciating grin.

As far as men went she usually gravitated toward tall, dark, and broody. She had a thing for hot guys with tortured pasts. Clearly apparent in her last few male partners. Her relationship with Neal Cassidy started shortly after she left Storybrooke. She was living in Boston at the time and he'd tried to steal her car. One thing led to another and she suddenly found herself having drinks with him. Which led to way more than she bargained for. After a year of seeing one another he attempted to frame her for stealing. Luckily he failed, landing him in prison.

After the debacle with Neal she dated more than a handful of equally as sucky men and women until she somehow found herself in a mostly sexual relationship with a serial flirt named Killian Jones. He certainly had sex appeal in spades. He was handsome, charming, and an attentive lover. It seemed though that serial flirting also extended to serial cheating. Her most recent, relationship had been with a woman named Victoria. She was smart, successful, overconfident to the point of being called bitchy, and ridiculously gorgeous. She was also extremely high maintenance. Even with her job as a top notch bounty hunter, Emma's bank account couldn't handle Victoria's high class lifestyle. Not to mention her sanity couldn't handle Victoria's vicious attitude. All of her past lovers seemed to have those few things in common. They were all much older than her, gorgeous, brunette, and had a habit of treating her like shit.

Mary Margaret stared curiously at her daughter. "Is there anyone in Storybrooke that IS your type?"

_Regina_. Her subconscious immediately supplied the name, cheeks flushing as she struggled not to voice the involuntary thought. Even if she'd said it jokingly she'l was sure Mary Margaret wouldn't be pleased. She was so busy playing deputy and helping her parents out that she hadn't gotten around to asking her mother about her falling out with Regina. The question was on the tip of her tongue, ready to be put out on the table, when Leo suddenly rushed back over from grabbing the carton of milk their mother sent him for. His bright eyed gaze settled upon her. Cold hands tugging at her arm to draw her attention.

"Emma will you walk me to school tomorrow?"

Emma laughed as she watched him bounce in his spot. The kid was so full of energy. She could barely keep up sometimes. "Whoa, little man. You're gonna tear my arm off."

"Pleeeaasseee?" He pouted up at her then turned the full effect of that pout on his unsuspecting mother. "Mom make Emma walk me to school tomorrow."

Mary Margaret cracked within seconds of looking into her son's big green eyes. Her pleading gaze moving to Emma. "Would you mind, sweetie?"

"Not at all." Emma smiled, ruffling Leo's hair with the hand not clasped in his mini death grip. "Looks like I'm taking you to school tomorrow."

His grip on her hand, if possible, tightened. The immense excitement clear on his face. He tugged more incessantly at the hand he held captive and Emma really did feel like he might tear her arm off. "You have to meet Henry! He's my bestest friend in the whole world and he has a whole bunch of comic books and a Wii and we always play on the jungle gym at recess and he's the most awesome friend ever!"

Emma smiled at his excitement. The kid was practically about to burst with it. "I'm sure he's as awesome as you say."

* * *

Where Leo was a bundle of energy and charisma, Henry was an adorably shy little boy with the most impeccable manners Emma had ever witnessed in a six year old. It was the cutest little thing. Leo practically dragged Emma over to where little Henry was waiting for them on the front steps of the elementary school. Declaring to Henry that Emma was his big sister. Then beaming at Emma that Henry was his best friend. Henry had immediately offered his hand to her in greeting, an oddly familiar polite smile on his face, and shook her hand firmly. Giving her a ridiculously formal "_pleased to meet you, Emma"_.

She wasn't going to lie, she almost cooed at the cuteness. The immense urge to pinch his cheeks subdued by the glare Leo was giving her. Her little brother seemed used to the reaction. Probably used to Mary Margaret fussing over little Henry.

"You have that look on your face mom gets right before she hugs Henry." Leo took a defensive stance in front of the blushing dark haired boy. "She always hugs him too tight and Henry doesn't like it so if you wanna hug him you gotta ask him first."

"Relax, little man." That, was just too adorable. Her little brother really was a Swan. He looked exactly like David did when he went into protective dad mode. Emma ruffled his blonde hair, causing him to pout and attempt to fix the little spikes he'd spent almost twenty minutes styling. She didn't know where he picked up the habit. David would walk around with bed head most days and Mary Margaret's hair seemed to just fall into place perfectly without any maintenance at all.

"Em! You're messing it up!"

Emma mussed up his hair more in response. "I'm totally making it look better."

"Noooo!" Leo whined pitifully. His small hands smacking futilely at Emma's.

The exchange between brother and sister earned a small giggle from Henry before his features twisted into seriousness. A frighteningly familiar 'you know better' glare in his brown eyes. "Emma, that isn't nice."

Emma swore she _knew_ that glare. Swore she'd seen those same big brown eyes somewhere before. She just couldn't place where. It was unnerving. "I'm the nicest big sister in the world. Go on, Leo, tell him."

Leo shook his head and glared at her. Trying and failing to push his hair back up into spikes. "No cause its not true."

"Oh really?" Emma grinned down at him. "You're not gonna tell him how nice your big sister, who might or might not be taking you to get ice cream after school, is?"

At the mention of ice cream, Leo's glare disappeared. He stared at Emma as if to say 'for real' and when he didn't find a hint of dishonesty he immediately turned to his friend. "Emma's the nicest big sister ever, Henry! She's so awesome and, um, super strong like a superhero. And... and really pretty!"

Henry caught on to the suggestive look in his best friend's eyes. "I take it back, Emma. You can mess with Leo's hair whenever you want because you're awesome."

"I'm awesome, huh?" She smirked at both boys. Pretending to think it over. "Alright. I guess I'll be taking you both to get ice cream. Gotta live up to my reputation."

* * *

They arrived at Granny's after school was out as promised. There was a small after school rush. A few older kids hanging out in some of the booths and parents taking their children for an after school snack.

Ruby spotted the trio instantly. Motioning Emma over to a booth near the windows and promptly going over to take there orders. A bright smile on her face. "What can I get you three?"

Emma smiled back at Ruby. They were in the same graduating class in high school but didn't really hang around the same crowd. However Ruby had always been friendly toward her and they did go on a few group outings together. "Hey, Red. Can we get ice cream sundaes all around?"

"I'm surprised you remembered." Ruby's smile grew even wider, taking on the all too wolffish quality Emma remembered. "No one has called me Red since high school. Especially since my hair isn't red anymore. Thank god."

"Force of habit." A charming little grin slipped across the blonde's lips. A little embarrassed by the slip up. "It looked pretty cool when you dyed it red."

"My rebellious teen phase is over." Her grin worsened, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Mostly, anyway." She winked at Emma. "I'll be right back with those sundaes, Deputy."

Within minutes they were presented with three super huge ice cream sundaes, all the fixings included. Emma and Leo immediately dug into their treats. Both filling their faces with ice cream and chocolate and whipped cream goodness. It wasn't until Emma was on her third heaping scoop that she noticed Henry hadn't touch his.

"You ok, kid?"

He pursed his lips and furrowed his brows in a show of immense restraint. Looking from the sundae, to Emma, and then back again with wide brown eyes. "My mom says I'm not supposed to have sweets in excess."

The blonde arched a bow at that. Wondering if the kid even knew what _excess_ meant. He was six for Christ sake, what six year old had that kind of vocabulary. "Well, if you only eat half of it then that wouldn't be excess, would it?"

Henry eyed her dubiously, thinking about it, before his face shifted into a wide excited grin. "No, it wouldn't."

He promptly dug into his frozen treat, although much less veraciously than Emma and Leo. Emma chuckled at his his mannerisms. The kid's mom sure raised a one hell of a polite kid. Emma's brow crinkled at the thought. In the short time she'd known him, Henry had been going on and on about his mother. Things she wouldn't approve of and cool mom things she would do. Never once had he mentioned his father. Emma took in the little boy's appearance. His dark hair was almost a rich chocolate color and looked like it'd been trimmed recently. His clothes looked pretty expensive, she could just tell the pressed Oxford button down he was wearing wasn't from a department store. There was just something so very familiar about the boy. Something nagged at her every time a certain expression would settle over his face. Every time she looked into his brown eyes.

"This sundae is really good, Emma." Henry beamed at her. "My mom says its polite to give compliments."

"Your mom sounds like a cool lady, kid."

"She is!"

"What about your dad? I'm sure he's a cool dude too."

"I don't have a dad. I only have my mom and she's the best mom ever."

Emma wasn't expecting that response at all. She figured Henry's parents were probably some happy, well off little couple with a darling kid. She hadn't heard any disparaging rumors floating around. Even a progressive small town like Storybrooke was still a small town and a single mom was bound to have rumors surrounding her. Though Henry did seem like a really good kid. His mother definitely raised him well all on her own.

"Who _is_ your mom?" The question had been gnawing at her since she first met Henry.

His eyes brightened considerably at the question. Pride burning through his stare. "She's the Queen."

"She's the what?"

Leo's blond head popped up from the bowl he'd been licking clean. "Henry's mom is the Queen of Storybrooke, Em! She has a big castle and knights and Daddy is one of her knights and-and so are you now too and one day I'm gonna be a knight just like you and Daddy!"

"Yeah, that means I'm a Prince. Mommy always tells me I'm her little Prince."

Emma paused mid bite, her brows crinkling in confusion. She shoved the massive spoonful of melting ice cream and whipped cream into her mouth. Trying to piece together the load of hyper six year old babble she'd just been witness to. "I'm one of her knights?"

"You're the _White Knight_." Henry pointed excitedly at Emma's face with a cute giggle.

Leo joined him in his infectious giggling, practically bouncing in his seat. "Emma! You need to get a sword, Emma!"

She briefly wondered if she should've taken a page out of Henry's mom's book and not given them sweets in excess. She could see the sugar rush taking over in their bright, excited eyes and their too loud voices. Emma couldn't even comprehend what in the hell they were talking about. "Why am I the White Knight?"

"Because of _you_r _face_!"

Emma had to wince at the sheer volume of the statement. Her little brother really had some lungs on him. Yeah, she was really starting to rethink the whole feeding six year olds giant ice cream sundaes thing. She wiped self consciously at her face in attempt to figure out what they were giggling at. Her hand came away sticky with an embarrassingly large dollop of whipped cream that somehow ended up on her chin. She rolled her eyes as she connected the dots and had to let loose a little giggle of her own. Only kids would correlate whipped cream on someone's face to them being a fictitious White Knight. "Will the Queen be gracing us with her presence to collect her little Prince from Granny's?"

"Yeah. David always gets me and Leo from school and my Mommy picks me up after she leaves her castle."

For the first time since the conversation about the kid's mother started, Emma actually understood one of the strange metaphors. Castle obviously translated to work in little boy speech. She glanced at the clock on the far wall reading a quarter past 4PM. "What time does your mom usually leave her castle?"

"Deputy Swan." The response she received didn't come from either of the hyperactive little boys siting across from her.

Emma turned toward the sound of the voice. Her gaze landing on none other than Regina Mills. Standing expectantly next to their table and giving Emma a strange look. Her confusion over the Mayor's sudden appearance was quelled by Henry jumping out of his seat. Wrapping his little arms around Regina and grinning happily up at her. "Mommy!"

The blonde found herself in a weird haze between '_did Henry just call Regina Mommy' _and '_Regina looks so sexy in that outfit_'. She missed Henry's excited chatter entirely as it all finally clicked. His mom was the "queen" of the town and Emma was one of her "knights". They meant she was the Mayor and Emma was a Deputy. Regina was Henry's _mother_. Regina had a _kid_. The realization was like a slap to the face. How much had she missed? What else didn't she know about the woman she... she... Henry said his father wasn't in the picture but that didn't mean there hadn't been _someone_. Someone _else_ with Regina. Someone that wasn't her.

Emma shook the bitter thoughts from her head. Returning to reality in time to catch Regina smiling adoringly at both her son and Leo who'd both latched onto her. In time to catch Leo grinning up at Regina and telling her all about his day in his usually enthusiastic way. She watched Regina nod and smile and laugh at his excited tale. Watched her run a hand through his blond hair, the little punk not even complaining about her messing it up like he did with Emma. Both boys seemed to be as enthralled with Regina as Emma was. All the blonde deputy could do was stare stupidly at the scene unfolding before her. Stunned into silence.

Regina was giving both Henry and Leo her undivided attention. Listening intently to their recounting of the day's adventures. Emma had been in love with this woman since she was an awkward confused teenager and seeing Regina like she was at that moment. Seeing past the hard exterior she projected as Mayor Mills, it had her heart doing that flippy thing she really wished it wouldn't. Had those stupid butterflies back in her stomach and fluttering with a vengeance. Even though she promised herself she wouldn't, it had Emma falling for Regina Mills all over again.

"Are you gonna come over for dinner, Regina?" Leo asked hopefully. His big green puppy eyes set on the brunette. "It's pizza night and Henry loves pizza."

Henry's eyes, the familiar eyes Emma could finally place, widened at the mention of pizza. "Can we please go, Mommy? Please?"

The serene look on Regina's face morphed into indecision.

Emma cleared her throat and stood from her seat. Forcing a tentative smile across her face as she addressed Regina. "I'm sure David and Mary Margaret would love to have you both over for dinner."

"I have quite a bit of work to do." Regina's features shifted from indecisive, hardening considerably at the mention of Emma's parents. Her internal struggle was visible. "It is Friday, perhaps Henry and Leo could have an impromptu sleepover. If you wouldn't mind taking my son along, Deputy Swan."

* * *

"Please inform David that I expect Henry home on Sunday morning." Regina struggled to keep cool, calm, and collected in front of Emma. Struggled to steel her features and level her voice. With both Henry and Leo packed into Emma's car, she had nothing to distract her from the woman in front of her. Without the warm public atmosphere of Granny's diner Regina suddenly felt trapped. It didn't matter that they were outside, standing next to Emma's car in front of the diner. It didn't matter that there were various townsfolk walking along the quiet streets. It didn't matter that there was a larger than necessary distance between them. Regina felt so very trapped by the questioning gaze she couldn't bring herself to meet. By that swirling hint of something Regina refused to acknowledge swimming in Emma's eyes. She needed to get as far away from Emma Swan as she could. She needed her heart to stop thudding so violently beneath her chest. She needed to stop remembering the past and what she couldn't let herself have. "Good day, Deputy."

Emma's brows furrowed at the title. She chewed at the inside of her cheek as Regina turned away, as the brunette started to walk away. In that moment Emma had a choice. She could either respond in kind and let Regina continue her retreat or she could brave the unspoken damage between them and make her stay. "Regina, wait."

At the sound of her name falling from Emma's lips, stabbing that already aching thinginside of her, Regina froze. Her posture going rigid and her insides burning with something like hurt and anger and longing.

The pause was enough to send Emma into action, to have her bridging the distance between them. Words springing from the lump lodged in her throat and out into the tense air. "You should come to dinner with us."

"Miss Swan," She forced the indifference into her voice, forced herself to turn around and face the blonde. Forced herself to look into those shining green eyes, to witness the hope and desperation in them. "As I have already informed you, I have quite a bit of work to do."

"I, uh," Emma rubbed nervously at the back of her neck. She couldn't subdue the soft blush at her cheeks or the racing of her heart. She couldn't recall, in the past few weeks, Regina actually looking her in the eyes. The brunette's stare, though harsh and empty, still set her skin aflame. Still made her knees weak and her head fuzzy. "I just thought, maybe... maybe we could talk? You know, play catch up? It's been a long time since-"

"You left?" They were both startled by the bitter, accusing tone. By the flash of hurt in brown eyes. Regina, however, was much quicker at recovering from the shock. At rebuilding her walls and reinforcing them with iron and steel. "I am well aware of the time that has passed and let me make this clear to you, _Miss Swan_," She forced herself to ignore the confusion seeping into Emma's features, to ignore the stabbing pain gripping at her heart and continue the facade. "I have no intentions of playing 'catch up' with you."

Emma winced at the harsh tone, at the meaning behind those words. She knew that repairing things with Regina would be quite a feat. She knew the brunette might be reluctant to sift through their endless pool of misgivings and try to find solid ground between them. She knew the inevitable showdown wouldn't be an easy one. What Emma didn't expect was for the blow to hurt as much as it did. She didn't expect Regina's harsh words to have her blinking back tears and struggling to keep herself put together. "I... hear you. Loud and clear."

"I'm glad we could come to an understanding." Her dark gaze strayed away from Emma to land on the two giggling little boys waiting patiently in the car. "I would also very much appreciate if you did not allow my son sweets before dinner in the future."

"Yeah, um, of course." Emma glanced back at the two, still very hyper, children. Mary Margaret was probably not going to be very happy about dealing with little boys on a sugar rush. As she took in Henry's excited features, the wide smile and excited wave he threw at his mother, that nagging feeling returned. The one that reeked of curiosity, sadness, and jealousy. The one that had her refocusing her attention back on Regina, had her speaking unfiltered. "He looks like you."

The smile Henry's actions had placed upon her face disappeared almost instantly at the comment. Her brows furrowed and her eyes narrowed. "What are you implying, Miss Swan?"

"I... Jeez, Regina." She took notice of the brunette's hardening expression, of the change in her posture. Regina looked pissed, looked about ready to attack Emma at the slightest provocation. She looked as though the comment was more of an insult than the compliment it was meant as. "Its been eight years, I didn't know you had a son, and the kid just looks like you."

Regina's frown didn't let up, didn't waiver. "Do you mean to tell me your parents never informed you of Henry?"

"Or his father." The biting response was out before Emma could stop herself.

A hint of curiosity broke through Regina's hard mask, swirling in her dark eyes and pulling at the frown upon her ruby painted lips. It almost seemed as though Emma was jealous. The idea was simply preposterous. Emma left and hadn't bothered to send so much as a postcard in the last eight years. She couldn't be jealous of Regina being with another person and if she were jealous she had absolutely no right to be. "Sunday morning, Miss Swan. Do not forget to inform your father."

She made to walk away, to get into her car and drive home. To get away from Emma and the suffocating emotions being near the blonde evoked. She couldn't let herself ponder the meaning behind Emma's words or actions. She would _not_ allow herself to sink back into whatever it was she thought they had in the past because that was exactly what it was. The past. And it needed to stay there lest she find herself nursing a broken heart once again. She needed to _let it go_. Walk away. Push her away. Before she gave in to those eyes and their beautiful pleading. Before she caved, before she could let Emma back in. Could allow her already broken heart to break.

Emma, it seemed, had just the opposite in mind. She couldn't just let Regina walk away from her, from whatever lingering feelings from the past were still sparking between them. If Emma allowed herself to have regrets, if she ever allowed herself to dwell on the past, she would regret the day she left. Would regret ignoring the fact that Regina had been THERE. That morning she'd asked Regina to tell her to stay and left when the brunette couldn't. Emma had forgotten how much louder actions could speak. Regina had asked her to stay, practically begged her to stay, short of saying the words Emma felt she needed to hear. So she shot forward, her hand reaching. Grasping. Fingers curling around Regina's hand. "Regina, please don't-"

Regina yanked her hand away as if burned. Brought the appendage tightly to her chest. Tried gallantly to ignore the humming buzz radiating through every particle of her being at the simple contact. She didn't bother to turn and face Emma as she spoke. Couldn't bear it if the blonde saw just how unhinged the unexpected touch had made her. She could barely control the waver of her voice. "We are done here, Miss Swan."


End file.
